Summary: Kate and Yelena finally make some progress on the case, but it's not what they expect.
Pairings: Kate Bishop x Yelena Belova
Warnings: mentions of alcohol and blood, fighting/violence, minor injuries, guns
And she's complete. Once again apologies if this is too much of a slow burn or not that great, it's my first fic after all. Cheers!
Kate woke up with a slight headache. It felt as though she had slept with a vise grip on her temples. She reached for her phone to check the time. 7:52AM. She groaned, knowing there's no way she could sleep any longer. She sat up slowly, long black hair falling over her face as she stretched, reaching her hands above her head while yawning.
"Good morning buddy." Lucky wagged his tailed as he stayed laying on the end of her bed, not quite ready to get up either.
Eventually Kate made her way downstairs for breakfast. She just sat down with her plate of eggs and toast when she received another text from a random number.
Unknown: Meet me on the corner of East 4th St and Avenue B. 10:00.
Unknown: Don't forget to drink some water.
Kate breathed out sharply from her nose at the reply. She wasn't that hungover, but water would definitely help. She read the address again, recognizing it as the same street her aunt's apartment was on. After finishing her breakfast and filling Lucky's bowl with an estimated amount of food, Kate got dressed to go. Her long ponytail hung down her back as she pulled her coat over her shoulders and headed out into the cold.
Kate walked around the corner to see Yelena sitting on a bench reading a newspaper.
"What's with all the rave about this espresso martini?" Yelena spoke without looking up from the paper. She was reading a small write up about local bars.
"Is the alcohol not enough? Is mixing caffeine a good idea?" Yelena sounded disappointed as she folded the paper and left it on the bench.
"Good morning to you too." Kate replied sarcastically.
Yelena ignored her comment before walking towards the apartment building entrance across the street. Kate picked up the newspaper and threw it in the recycling bin nearby.
"Hey, this is my aunt's building." Kate said, slightly jogging to catch up with Yelena. She wasn't sure if she should have shared that information with her as it was once the safe house where Clint was literally hiding from Yelena, but it's too late now.
"Interesting." Is all Yelena replied.
They made their way up the stairs as Yelena stopped in front of a dark brown door. Kate looked confused as she stared at Yelena for an explanation.
"This is it." Yelena gestured towards the door.
"What?" Kate looked back and forth between the door and Yelena. "This is my aunt's apartment, a Widow broke in here?" Kate pointed at the door, looking to Yelena for answers.
Yelena looked deep in thought as her brows furrowed together, clearly taken aback by this new information.
"Very interesting." Yelena stepped forward and picked the lock effortlessly.
Everything looked normal as they entered, Yelena went first to cautiously peak around corners for any unwanted visitors. Kate followed closely behind, peering in the opposite direction Yelena looked first.
"Clear." Yelena announced, visibly relaxing a little bit.
"It doesn't look like she took anything, why my aunt's place?" Kate asked to herself as she sat down on the arm chair in the living room.
Yelena looked around with a slightly worried expression that made Kate nervous, she's never seen her look worried before.
"Have you done anything to piss anyone else off recently?" Yelena quipped.
Kate rolled her eyes, "Not that I know of, why?"
"I think that you might be the Widow's target."
Yelena looked around the room, eyes searching for more clues as if she didn't need to explain her statement.
"What? Me? Why?" Kate sat forward in the arm chair bringing her elbows to rest on her knees, eyes wide as they followed Yelena pacing back and forth.
"A Widow breaks into your aunt's apartment then immediately flees to the security company your family owns that you currently work at? Why do you think." Yelena continued to pace, thinking hard.
"Oh my god." Kate felt stupid for not connecting the dots. "My name is on my apartment's buzzer..." Kate made a face as she nervously looked at Yelena.
Yelena looked at her clearly annoyed before bringing a hand to her face, sighing loudly.
Okay, new plan. Since it seemed like Kate was the target, she figured the best way to find the Widow was to wait for her to come to Kate. And the best place to find Kate, would be at her apartment.
"So you want to be like the sitting ducks." Yelena argued.
"We won't be sitting ducks, we'll know she's coming...eventually."
Yelena reluctantly took a sip from her black coffee. Her eyes looked around at the unknowing strangers in the cafe, too busy with their own lives to pay attention to the two of them.
"What happens if she comes in the middle of the night when you're getting your beauty sleep? What then Kate Bishop?" Kate thought she caught a hint of panic in her tone, but her face appeared indifferent as it usually did, strictly business. She did make a good point. Kate made a disapproving noise as she rested her face in her hands, elbows on the old worn-out red table.
"Do you have a better idea?" Kate retorted.
"Yes actually, I think I do." Yelena threw some cash onto the table before getting up, gesturing for Kate to do the same.
Kate struggled to keep up with Yelena as she walked quickly out of the shop, turning right down the street.
"Where are we going?" Kate bumped into someone by accident and uttered a quick apology before catching up.
"Not here." Warned Yelena as she pressed on.
"Why does nobody tell me any-" Just then Kate felt something slam into her side, tackling her into the alley to her right.
Kate managed to roll out of her attacker's arms before immediately having to block a punch to her left. She spun her leg around in an attempt to trip the hooded figure before jumping to her feet. Yelena came up from behind but was met with block after block, only a few hits making their way to their target. The hooded figure hit Yelena hard in the stomach, sending her flying backwards into a nearby dumpster. Kate ran forward at the assailant, throwing a punch that was dodged at the last second. They faced each other with their fists up ready to fight, Kate tried to see their face, but the hood and poor alley lighting made it impossible. The figure lunged forward as Kate ducked a forceful punch. She heard Yelena groan as she slowly sat up beside them. Kate was struggling to make contact when a hard punch struck her on the left side of her face. She felt her skin tear as another blow to her ribs caused her to fall backwards, knocking the wind out of her. Yelena grabbed the hooded figure from behind, arm tightening around their neck as she pulled them away from Kate. The back of a fist found its way to Yelena's nose before the figure slipped out from under her grip, running out of the alley and out of sight.
Kate's arm was around Yelena's shoulders as they entered the dingy building Yelena brought them to. It was an old two story warehouse Yelena had apparently made into her hideout. A mattress was on the floor in the corner of a large room with tall ceilings. A small couch was pushed against the far wall with a coffee table in front of it. Large windows stretched two of the walls with a sink to the right of the door, a cracked mirror hanging above it. Yelena helped Kate sit on the couch before walking towards a small table that held various food items and supplies. She returned with what looked like a makeshift first aid kit.
"Let me see." Yelena leaned over to look at the cut on Kate's face before kneeling down in front of her. Yelena's hand reached up to grab the bottom of Kate's shirt before looking up at Kate for permission. Kate nodded and watched as Yelena slowly pulled up the fabric of her shirt to reveal a bruise already forming on her ribs. Kate made a small noise as Yelena pressed her fingertips to it.
"Did you hear a crack?" Yelena stared at the bruise.
"No, I don't think so?" A sharp pain jolted through her side when she breathed too deeply.
Yelena repositioned herself beside Kate on the couch. She opened the small bag she brought back from the table and pulled out a disinfectant wipe. She leaned closer before carefully pushing a strand of Kate's hair out of the way as she brought the wipe to the open cut on her cheek.
"Sorry." Yelena warned before dabbing the wound with the wipe.
Kate inhaled sharply as it stung her skin. Yelena rummaged for a bandage and some ointment before returning her attention to the cut. Kate felt the warmth from Yelena's finger tips as she let her hand linger for a moment after gently pressing a butterfly bandage to her skin. She stared at the green eyes concentrating on her patchwork before they shifted to stare into her blue ones.
"Thank you." Kate said softly.
Yelena blinked rapidly for a moment before letting out a breathe she didn't realize she was holding in and looked away from Kate's eyes.
"Don't mention it." She began cleaning up the supplies thrown about the coffee table and couch.
"How does your nose feel?" Kate asked concerned. A small amount of dried blood could still be seen around her nostrils.
"It's been worse." Yelena joked with a small smile.
A comfortable silence fell between them for a brief moment.
"So, what was your better idea?" Kate teased, laughing briefly before a sharp pain shot through her side, causing her to wince.
It was Yelena's turn to laugh. "Before we got rudely interrupted, I was going to bring you here, before going back to the gang member's apartment to question him. He might know something, why else would she break into a police station to look through his file."
"Bring me here, to do nothing?" Kate sounded disappointed.
"You're the target, of course you shouldn't come along it's much too dangerous." Yelena waved her hands as she spoke.
"What if she succeeds next time?" Yelena finally looked back at Kate, a serious expression on her face. They stared at one another for what felt like forever before Kate spoke, "I can't just sit here. You asked me to help you, so let me."
Kate woke to the sound of water running from the shower on the other side of the wall. She blinked at the sunlight forming sporadic beams from the numerous small square windows. She sat up slowly, white sheets slid off her arm as she brought a hand to her ribs to avoid aggravating them. The space next to her on the mattress was empty but still warm to the touch. She got up slowly, scanning the supply table for anything that looked like it could be breakfast.
"Morning." Kate hadn't heard Yelena re-enter the room. She turned around to see her already dressed, wet hair hanging off her shoulders.
"Good morning, do you have anything actually edible in here?" Kate held up a sad looking packet of instant oatmeal.
Yelena frowned, "It's good for you, besides it's your only option."
Kate went to shower after forcing herself to finish her oatmeal. She pulled the shirt Yelena gave her to sleep in over her head with difficulty. She looked at the damage in the dirty mirror above the sink, a deep purple bruise staring back at her. She looked down at her torso as she brushed her fingers along her ribs. Yup, that'll hurt for awhile.
Yelena was just finishing sorting her weapons on the coffee table when Kate emerged from the washroom.
"Alright, let's do this." Kate announced with far too much confidence for the state she was in. Her whole body ached but the shower did help a little.
"I'm still not happy about this." Yelena replied, sitting up from the couch.
"Oh come on, two's a party right?" Kate winked at her as she smiled playfully, earning a laugh from Yelena.
Yelena had her weapon drawn as they slowly approached the gang member's door. Kate had her bow ready, not sure how useful it will be at such close range, but Yelena wouldn't let her be by herself on the stake out rooftop. She mentioned something about her being "too exposed" and "dead meat" if the Widow found her first. Kate thought she should have more faith in her fighting abilities, Yelena merely looked down at the bruise forming under the gash on her cheek without saying anything. Fair point.
When Yelena reached down to grab the door knob she realized the door was slightly ajar. She turned to look at Kate and they both nodded at each other.
Various items were thrown about the apartment. One window was open slightly letting a small breeze blow a sad looking curtain around gently. Yelena's arms were extended in front of her, hands gripping a loaded gun. Kate turned slowly in a circle, checking behind them as she scanned the room.
Yelena crept into the kitchen when something hard made contact with her hands, knocking the gun up into the air out of her grasp. The gun flew to the ground before sliding to a stop under the nearby couch. The Widow leaped out from behind the wall going after Yelena relentlessly. Kate raised her bow, trying to aim it at the hooded figure without accidentally hitting Yelena. She let an arrow fly, it grazed the Widow's upper arm before embedding into the far wall. Attention shifted to Kate, the Widow landed an uppercut into Yelena's jaw before leaping over a side table coming full speed towards Kate. She dropped her bow as limbs attempted to make contact with her from every direction. A few of her kicks and punches landed on the Widow before getting knocked off her feet. They found themselves fighting to dominate as they rolled around on the old carpet. Kate was almost blinded by the pain she felt in her ribs. Adrenaline took over as years of martial arts paid off, Kate had the Widow pinned below her, legs straddling her torso as she reached down and ripped the hood off. Kate sat back slightly, stunned, a gasp escaping her lips. She thought she was hallucinating, staring back at her was none other than herself. A left hook landed hard on Kate's face in her confusion. The other Kate rolled out from under her before leaping to her feet. Both Kates circled each other, fists up like they did in the alley.
"What the hell." Yelena commented stunned, moving her jaw around as if to put it back into place.
One punch dodged, another kick blocked. Shock written all over Kate's face, while the Widow version of herself stared at her intensely, determination and anger behind her eyes.
"Is this what people mean by being your own worst enemy?" Kate joked as she ducked to avoid another jab.
Before the Widow could react, Yelena's arms were around her waist tackling her to the ground. An elbow made contact with Yelena's side before she managed to pull a red vial from a small pocket near her chest. A cloud of red dust filled the space between them, Widow Kate blinked in confusion as she slowly stopped fighting back. All three of them breathed heavily for a moment before Widow Kate spoke.
"I-I'm sorry." Her brows pushed together as she looked back and forth between Kate and Yelena.
Yelena rolled off of the Widow to sit with her back against a bookshelf, chest falling up and down as she caught her breath.
"Who are you? I mean you're me, but are you me? Why were you after me?" Kate was rambling, never averting her gaze from the Widow.
"I wasn't after you. You were going to steal my target and take the job money." Other Kate looked annoyed as she examined the rip in her sleeve from Kate's arrow.
"Steal your target?" Yelena chimed in.
"Yes, this guy's apartment we're in. I was hired to take him out, then I saw you two on the rooftop across the street watching him the other night. Or, rather heard you after someone yelled loudly."
Kate shot a disapproving look at Yelena, remembering when she scared her during their stake out.
"Someone's not very good at being discreet." Yelena gestured towards Kate with a jerk of her thumb.
"Hey that was not my fault!" Kate defended.
"I thought you were going to get in my way, so I tried to remove an obstacle, clearly that didn't work."
Kate paced back and forth still very confused. How is she standing in a room with herself? Not to mention this version of herself is a Widow?
"Why did you not think it was weird to see yourself on a rooftop?" Kate crossed her arms as she stared down at her own face looking up at her.
"I figured out I must have jumped to another multiverse. I woke up in what I thought was my New York City, but slowly found things weren't quite right."
"So you needed money." Yelena was thinking hard, clearly knowing something Kate hadn't figured out yet.
"Exactly" Widow Kate looked at Yelena when she answered her, "the bank has plenty to go around. I didn't have access to my money here." She ran a hand through her black hair, looking far too casual about all of this.
The bank robbery, suddenly it clicked in Kate's mind.
"When I found all the information on my target was the same here as in my universe, I assumed I was sent here on purpose to take him out in this New York." So that explains the police station break in, Kate was slowly connecting the dots.
"You were never after me, you were just...me." Kate was deep in thought as she thought of her aunt's apartment, which was then also Widow Kate's aunt as well. She remembered the biometrics needed to get into Bishop Security, now made possible by the fact that the intruder was in fact Kate, or a version of her.
Yelena and Widow Kate watched as she spiraled into thought, a hand coming up to stroke her chin.
"How did you become a Widow?" Other Kate suddenly looked rather sad at the question from herself. She breathed deeply before looking up to lock eyes with her, the same blue staring back.
"Both of my parents died in an attack on New York City when I was little. One day I was in the foster system, the next I was being taken to the Red Room under the false hope that I was going to my new home." Other Kate looked down at her hands as she played with her fingers. Yelena looked at her empathetically.
Kate's chest tightened with sadness at her words. It felt weird feeling sad for herself in this way. She couldn't help but feel uneasy about how that could have been her.
"Dreykov sent me back to work in the company under his mind control once I was old enough. It gave him access to highly confidential assets."
The three of them talked for awhile when they went back to Kate's apartment. Yelena explained the antidote to Widow Kate and how she was trying to free as many of the others she could. Kate looked at Yelena with admiration as she spoke. Yelena did have a heart, it was so obvious now. Kate texted Clint a message that simply said "Call me, urgent." before calling him anyways. They came up with a plan to have America help Widow Kate return to her universe. Or really, Clint came up with the plan, but Kate pretended it was also her idea. It was strange watching herself walk around her apartment knowing where everything was, helping herself to things that were technically hers.
Both Kates looked at each other before the Widow raised her hand for Kate to shake it. Kate hesitated before she leaned forward to hug herself goodbye instead. Never in a million years did she think she would get to meet herself. Yelena wished her good luck as they shared an understanding look. Kate's smile was mirrored back at her as Widow Kate turned around one last time before leaving through the apartment door.
Kate stood staring at nothing as she processed the recent events. She didn't notice Yelena watching her carefully to her left.
"You need to ice that." Yelena brought Kate back from her thoughts as she turned around to grab a bag of frozen peas from the freezer.
She guided Kate to the couch, helping her sit down carefully. Kate didn't need the help, but she appreciated the gesture. Yelena handed her the bag of peas, watching as she pulled up her shirt to gently rest the bag on the patch of dark purple. Kate winced when it made contact. Kate watched Yelena scan her carefully, checking for any other damage. She suddenly felt very vulnerable. Sadness constricted her chest at the realization that Yelena had no reason to stay in New York anymore. She would probably disappear before morning, leaving no way for Kate to contact her. Yelena's hand came up to check the cut on Kate's cheek that she so carefully patched the night before.
"I'm going to miss cleaning up your mess Kate Bishop." Yelena confessed with a genuine smile as she tilted Kate's chin to the side to see the bruise better. They were so close, Kate could feel Yelena's breath on her neck. Green eyes continued to assess her wound as fingers lightly pressed the bandage more securely onto her skin. Kate realizing her heart was beating much harder than usual. As Yelena's hand began to drop away from Kate's face, her hand shot up to grab Yelena's wrist. Kate surprised herself with her own action, before slowly guiding the hand back to her cheek. Her eyes flickered down to Yelena's mouth briefly before she leaned forward to close the space between them. Kate Bishop was kissing Yelena. And Yelena was kissing her back. Kate's stomach was doing somersaults as she attempted to deepen the kiss, but her breath hitched at the sudden movement causing her ribs to shoot in pain. Their faces fell apart as realization and embarrassment washed over Kate.
"I-I'm so sorry I-" Kate stuttered nervously, unable to look Yelena in the eye. She felt like she was being swallowed whole from embarrassment. A couple strands of dark hair hung down from her ponytail attempting to hide the flushed red colour of her cheeks. Kate wanted to disappear.
"Kate," Yelena spoke calmy.
"I don't-why did I-I'm so sor-"
"Kate." Yelena repeated herself.
Kate inhaled and exhaled shakily, looking around frantically for the right words to say.
"Kate." Yelena repeated for the third time as she reached forward to grab one of the archer's shaking hands.
Kate finally looked at Yelena after much effort. This time, it was Yelena who leaned in closer, pausing for just a moment inches from Kate's face before bringing her free hand up to pull Kate's face gently towards hers. She kissed her slowly, and so gently. Kate could hardly believe a killer like Yelena was capable of expressing such tenderness.
When they finally pulled apart, faces still implausibly close to one another, Kate couldn't help a small smile from playing on her lips.
"You have no idea how long I've been wanting to do that." Kate confessed.
"I do actually, you really aren't very discreet." Yelena let out a small laugh as she teased Kate.
Kate woke up to the sound of her alarm. She lazily reached a hand out to turn it off before turning over to sleep a little longer. She opened her eyes to see the space beside her was empty, yet again. Her stomach dropped. She sat up suddenly, looking around her room for any sign that Yelena was still there. She threw her covers off of her before jumping out of bed to make her way downstairs. Lucky greeted her at the bottom of the stairs and Kate bent over to pet him quickly, distracted by scanning her apartment. As panic began to sink in, Kate noticed a box sitting on her kitchen table. There was a ribbon wrapped neatly around it tied into a bow. Kate walked over and reached down to undo the knot. She opened the box carefully and peered inside to see a set of brand new forks. She smiled widely and bit her lower lip as she let out a small laugh. A small note was resting on the silverware.
Now there's enough for the both of us. See you soon. -Y
Kate read the note over again, holding it in her hands lovingly. Excitement taking over as she thinks about when she'll get to see Yelena again.
